In September 1939, the Soviet Union entered World War II by first invading Poland from the east and then de facto occupying the Baltic states.

During the Estonian War of Independence, some 4,000 Finnish volunteers—including the 1st Finnish Volunteer Corps [fi] regiment under leadership of Colonel Martin Ekström and Pohjan Pojat (“Sons of the North”) brigade under leadership of Colonel Hans Kalm—had at a crucial moment helped to turn the tide of the war and rout the invading Red Army.

While there had been many Estonian volunteers in the Finnish Army already during the Winter War, the first men of JR 200 crossed the Gulf of Finland in early spring of 1943.

The Hawks were Estonian volunteers working for the S-office [clarification needed] which was part of the secret service of the Finnish headquarters.

The hawks were equipped with speed boats and many of them had served in the reconnaissance unit Erna, also made up of Estonian volunteers, in the early days of Operation Barbarossa.

On the next day, Aleksander Warma announced that the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia had sent a telegram, which stated: "Estonians return home!"

In the letter, the Finnish government was asked to send the Estonian volunteer regiment back to Estonia fully equipped.